Tired from the journey, but feeling more grounded after his wanderings, Grayday trotted back into the territory with the sort of relief he hadn't felt since he was a kid. The relief of returning home after a long journey, and seeing familiar sights, smelling the familiar scents of the pack. He didn't know these wolves all that well yet, but they'd opened their home to him, and he'd made his den with them. The rest would come in time.

He thought about Banner as he made his way toward the den, their raccoon still clutched loosely in his jaws. Had her time away from home helped clear her head? They hadn't talked about it, but in her, Grayday had sense an inner turmoil not dissimilar to his own. He hoped that she found what she was looking for. He hoped he'd see her again.

Laying down his kill outside the den, Day decided that a little rest was in order. Moving a respectable distance away, he sprawled out in the afternoon sun and let his eyes slip shut. Surely this time, no one would question his presence in this common area of the territory. He'd proved himself valuable, made his way through the ranks. He was family, now. He hoped.

She was fast asleep, curled up inside the den, but a wonderful smell reached her nose and quickly rose her from her slumber. Her head lifted, her nose sniffing the air hard before her eyes even opened. She squinted them open, rising her paws and shuffling towards the mouth of the den, her nose leading the way. She reached the carcass and dug in quickly, not bothering to even look around to see who brought it. She hadn't even realized she was hungry, but she was scarfing down the met with gusto.

Her abdomen quickly swelled with the food, and Adeline lifted her head after she took her fill. She licked her maw free of blood as her eyes canned the area around her. They landed on a gray wolf she had never met before, and she instantly lowered her body behind the carcass, as if to try and hide. As scared as she was of strangers, her tail still wagged, hoping he was friendly.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

Day gawked at the little fluffball that tumbled out of the den, not entirely certain - at first - what it was he was seeing. But when she descended on the raccoon, the she held still long enough for Day to see the vague wolf-shape of her, and abruptly, the fluffball gained a name.

Adeline.

He was not quite surprised at her appearance. He'd known, in fact, that a pup did reside at Silvertip Mountain. Sometimes the others would even carry her youthful scent. But she'd always been something that Day knew about but had never really experienced - like elephants, salt water, and the mailman.

So it was a little strange to see her so suddenly, so near. No one else was around, either - no one to tell him whether or not he was seeing things. But a deep breath told him all he needed to know - this was the same Adeline-scent that lived on Steady's coat. Same Adeline.

A low chuckle escaped him at his own silliness - of course. Of course it was Adeline. What else would it be? The mailman? Somehow, Day doubted that the mailman would be so small and fluffy, or that it would attack a mangled raccoon with such intensity. Damn, but you're cute, he thought, watching her intently - trying to see through the haze of his eyes and past the puppyish blandness of her appearance.

"Hey," he said brightly, wagging his own tail and lowering his head to the ground. His body flattened in friendly submission - not a pose he liked to strike for most wolves, but what could the pup do to him? "My name's Day. You must be little Adeline, huh?"

It was futile to hide behind the carcass, as it was mostly eaten, and only the ribs stuck out. She eyed the wolf through the curved bones, her tail swishing the grass behind her. She knew her Uncle Steady wasn't here, but he was a big, tough wolf, and didn't think he would let another wolf near here that might hurt her.

He spoke, and her eyes widened a little. He introduced himself as Day, and she couldn't help but giggle. That's not a name! she exclaimed. She knew it described the time when the sun was out, and night described when it wasn't. He had flattened his body against the ground, which made him appear a little smaller. Adeline wasn't so caught up on rank and submissiveness, since she was young enough that it didn't apply to her. At least, she didn't think it applied to her. She lifted her head a bit to fully see over the ribs of the raccoon, but didn't move yet beyond that. Yeah, I'm Adeline, she responded in affirmation. He knew her name, so he must be alright.

With all the energy of a pup, she bounded over the carcass and trotted over to him, plopping down on her hind end in front of him. Did you bring the food? she inquired.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

A warm huff of laughter left him at her firm declaration. Not too sure about her age, he'd expected her to be far less coherent, and had given her the preferred shortened form of Grayday. Probably, she wouldn't have much trouble with his whole name, but he'd feel a little silly going back on his introduction. He simply wagged his tail, giving up. You're right, that's not a name. Grayday isn't really, either.

"Steady's not really a name," he pointed out, watching through shaded eyes as she came nearer to him. Two eyes formed out of the fog; a nose. We are lucky I found you around the den, he thought, frowning a bit. You look very much like something to eat, even this close up.

But he did not really want to eat her.

"I did," he said solemnly when she asked about the food. "You seemed very hungry. Have you been getting enough?"

It seemed likely that the rest of the pack was also feeding her. He brought food back on most of his trips out of the territory, and it seemed likely that the rest of the pack would be doing the same thing. It occured to him that he should probably know what was going on with her and the others - foodwise, at least - but he'd been out quite a bit, lately. Chasing ghosts of dreams. Maybe he should pay more attention to the goings-on around Silvertip. He was a part of this pack the same as the rest of them, and he needed to get involved.

She looked thoughtful, as if considering his statement that Uncle Steady's name wasn't a name, either. She hmph, as if conceding, and let it go. She wasn't about to agree with him, as she felt it would be going against her Uncle, and that wasn't something she wanted to do.

Her head bobbed up and down in answer to his question. Yeah, but I'm always hungry anyways, she confessed. She was a growing pup and put away food like it was water.

Her mind, never staying on one thing long, switched subjects. She narrowed her eyes at him as she studied him. Your eyes look weird, she told him, as if he didn't know.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

"They're broken," he said softly, his tail beating the ground behind him. He let his eyes slip shut. He was not exactly self-concious, especially in front of this little girl, but it went against his instincts to advertise his weaknesses. Once again, though, he found no harm in speaking to the child about it. "It looks like clouds, right?" he asked the little wolf, widening his eyes for her to better see. "Day is just a nickname - my whole name is Grayday. Like how it looks before a storm. Funny, right?"

She wasn’t aware that her statement might have made the male uncomfortable. She wasn’t great with feelings or empathy just yet. She tilted her head when he explained they were broken. How did they get broken? She asked. She nodded when he asked if they look like clouds. Yeah… It’s kinda cool, actually.

Her expression turned thoughtful as he explained his full name. Your name is Grayday because you have the sky in your eyes! She said, smiling. How do I get that? She asked, immediately wanting it. It was so different from the normal eyes that everyone else had.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

She was a funny little cub - Day had to laugh as she asked how she could get eyes like his. He hoped that she would never experience what he thought had caused his ailment - the burning flames, and the months of chronic infections that followed - but as long as he didn't think too hard about that, the question seemed an innocent one.

"It's a secret," he said solemnly, laying his head own on his paws. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about the special dance you have to do before, during, and after a rainstorm."

After a moment, he widened his eyes comically. "Oh no - you weren't supposed to know about that!"

She was sad, as evidence by the frown on her face, when he informed her that it was a secret. It wasn’t fair! She wanted his gray eyes, to have hers look like clouds. Why was it such a secret? She was about to ask, when her brain processed what he had said. Her eyes widened in shock, but she smiled, happy she had gotten what she wanted.

It’s okay! I can dance! See?! She turned this way and that, balancing on her back legs for a moment before dropping back down to all fours. Her tail wagged as she looked at him. Will you do it with me when the next storm comes? He was the only one who knew how to do it properly, and she wanted to make sure she did it right.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

"Maybe," he said evasively, looking with pseudo-suspicion at the little girl. "There's a lot more to having sky-eyes than just dancing in the rain. You should know that it makes it very hard to see - especially at night. If I had not already been a warrior when the clouds came into my eyes, I might not have done so well."

He was not sure how they'd gotten into this; it didn't seem right to either shatter her dreams or encourage them. Day went for what he hoped was the middle ground, and tried to caution the girl in a way he'd never been cautioned as a cub. For everyone had to learn to be careful what they wished for, and he hoped that Adeline would figure it out before she followed her dreams and found only loneliness at the end.

He wasn't projecting. Not at all.

"Have you ever seen your eyes?" he asked suddenly, wondering if she had yet discovered the wonder of her own reflection. "They're brown, but with a little bit of green. Like how the land looks right as spring starts. It's a very pretty color. Full of hope. I wouldn't want to lose that, if i had what you had."

The mood quickly turned somber as the gray male cautioned the young female. She listened, her ears perked as he admitted he couldn’t see very well, especially at night. So… what don’t you see? she asked. She took the explanation as he could see some things, and not others.

She thought for a moment before shaking her head side to side. No, she confessed. She had been down to the lake, but never took the time to study herself. Her frown that had come when he told her the downside of his eyes quickly turned into a smile when he highlighted the good in hers. So, I have two colors in my eyes, instead of one? she asked, in awe. How had she missed that?

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

"Can't see little things, a lot of the time," he admitted, not catching the true meaning of the question in the infinite ignorance of adulthood.

Now that she was so excited about her own eyes and forgetting about wanting sky eyes, Day decided that it wouldn't be too terrible to keep certain facts to himself. He was pretty sure the muddy hues to her eyes would fade with time - there was a pretty jade shining through that seemed bright even to his weathered vision. He supposed he could tell her that, too, to make up for the loss of the brown, but it was better just to keep things simple.

"Yeah, two-tone eyes you've got there, gorgeous," he laughed, giving her chest and gentle bump with his nose. Still pup-scented, but with the notable absence of milk-sweet-mother scent, as well. Poor kid, he thought. Cheerful little bug, though. Wide-awake, too. Maybe I should move somewhere else for my nap.

He confessed that he didn’t see little things mostly, and she cocked her head to the side while her head tried to envision that, understanding that it wasn’t specific things he couldn’t see. But, she couldn’t. For the span of her memory, she knew how to see, and pretty well at that. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not be able to do that.

A smile brightened her thoughtful features when he complimented her eyes. Hers may not have been mirrored the sky, but she was happy to know she had two colors in them instead of one. It made her feel special.

Her attention span being as short as it was, she grew tired of conversation and sought out more physical things to do. I’m gonna go catch bugs! Want to help? she asked.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

Smiling indulgently, Day pushed himself to his paws and shook the dust out of his coat. "Yeah, let's go find some bugs," he said with a fortifying yawn. I can sleep when I'm dead, he decided, but -hopefully- Adeline won't be there with me for quite some time after the fact.

She wasn't his own pup, and one other wolf didn't make up a family... but somehow, this seemed liked just enough.

He agreed to come along, and in her excitement, ran around him while he got up, prancing over to the edge of the clearing once he was. Awesome! We're going to be the Bug Catcher Team! she announced, her gaze searching for any movement.

Her gaze zeroed in on what she thought was something moving in the dirt. For a moment, she didn't see anything. Then, it moved again. A worm! she said excitedly. She grabbed it up, tossed it into the air and watched as it hit the ground. She growled at it, then picked it up again and tossed it once more. Her needle-like teeth had torn its delicate flesh and it wouldn't survive this for much longer.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

Day laughed as he watched her 'hunt', energy coming anew in the presence of her joie de vivre. Trying to enter the game himself, the bigger male crouched low to catch the ruined body that she'd thrown again into the air. The worm landed with a sick splat against his nose, but he shook it off easily and caught it on the downfall to parade it before the younger wolf.

"Beat that," he said through his teeth, throwing it high for her to try and catch.

She threw the poor, defenseless worm into the air, and couldn't suppress a giggle when it landed on Grayday's nose. He looked so funny with it there. He threw it into the air again, challenging her to beat it, and she ran to get under it before it hit the ground again.

However, her coordination was a little off, and she ended up going too far. The worm landed on her lower back. She strained her neck to look at it, growling in displeasure. She bucked her hips, trying to get it off, but the worm, covered in her saliva, was stuck to her fur. Adeline continue to try and kick it off, but it remained where it was.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

A deep, full-bellied laugh wracked his body at the sight of the little wolf trying to dance the worm off her back. (He was sure there was a joke, somewhere in there.) It was the best thing he'd seen since coming to the wilds, and it almost made up for his longing for home and family.

When it became clear that she would not be able to get it off on her own, he lowered himself once more and gestured her toward him.

"Come here - don't hurt yourself, girl," he called, splaying his forelegs wide to make room for her approach.

The stupid worm was stupidly stuck to her stupid backside, no matter how much she shook and bucked and tried to get it off. She was beginning to get frustrated when she heard Gray call her over. She stopped her attempts and walked to him, her head low but her tail wagging.

She turned her body to the side, giving him the opportunity to get the worm off of her. She turned her head around to watch, as if she needed to see it to believe it.

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

The worm came away with the first swipe of his tongue, but he gave her a few more perfuntory licks to clean the gunk and dust from her backside as well. The sweet puppy-scent of her almost made him sneeze, but instead, he merely chuckled again.

"You're good," he told her, unable to detect any further debris with his 'sky eyes', and unable to catch wind anything amiss under the thick, somewhat pleasant little-wolf smell. And she was - good, that is - but Day was still pretty tired, and not even another rousing game of mutilate-the-worm could tempt him to remain conscious any longer. "I'll bring you something sturdier next time, alright?" he promised, giving her one last snuff-over before standing and stretching out his aching back. "I'm gonna go take a nap, now."

The worm was discarded by the gray male, and with a few more licks of her fur, was all but forgotten. Her tail wagged in appreciation, and she turned, expecting some more play. But, it seemed he was tired, as he announced he was going to take a nap. With all her bucking and excitement, Adeline didn't think that was a bad idea.

Okay, see you later! she said, and then turned to head back to her own den, a yawn coming forth from her maw as she walked away. She figured she would see Grayday again soon, as he promised he would bring something back that was a bit sturdier. Maybe a big, chunky, yummy piece of meat. It's what she would dream about during her nap.

Thanks for the thread! <3

do you want to break me like you were fourteen
and someone dared you to break the law?

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!

This is beautiful. ? Your writing is captivating in all of its forms, but I especially like your poetry. I was actually going to leave the karma on the post where Grayday was talking to Sunny and Dawn about his father — and then I remembered that time Grayday was talking to Dawn about what was good love and what was bad love — and then, incongruously, I thought of when Grayday was telling Szymon to basically go home and put babies in Doe. I have had so many good times with you here, Mix. Thank you for every single one of them.

There are so many posts of yours I could nudge; Grayday teaching Dawn about bad love and good love, his amazing dadness with Sunny and Dawn in numerous threads, and so many more. Your writting is captivating, and I usually read all your posts are amazing to read. Go Graydad!